Role of yttrium in glass formation of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

In this study, we discovered that a small addition of Y is very effective in improving glass-forming ability of Fe-based alloys. As-cast bulk amorphous alloys containing 2 at. % Y showed large thermal stability, with glass transition temperatures above 900 K and supercooled liquid regions above 55 K, and high strength, with Vickers hardnesses larger than HV 1200. The beneficial effect of Y on glass formation is twofold: (1) Y adjusted the compositions closer to the eutectic and thus lowered their liquidus temperatures, and (2) Y improved the manufacturability of these alloys by scavenging the oxygen impurity from it via the formation of innocuous yttrium oxides. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.